01/30/2008

Associated Press

A judge imposed a gag order Wednesday in the case of a funeral home operator charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife.

In a pretrial hearing, Nash County Superior Court Judge Quentin Sumner refused bond for 37-year-old Mark Bowling, who could face the death penalty. Sumner also ruled that court personnel and attorneys could only answer questions about procedural matters and not discuss potential evidence.

"The case will not be tried in the press. It will be tried in the courtroom," the judge said.

Bowling and his girlfriend, Rose Delores Vincent, 27, are accused in the Dec. 8, 2006 slaying of Bowling's wife, Julie Bowling. Police said she was shot to death in the garage of her Rocky Mount home.

Prosecutors also are seeking the death penalty against Vincent.

Bowling's defense attorney had asked that the pretrial hearing be closed to the media because of publicity, a motion opposed by several news organizations including The Associated Press. Prosecutors also had asked for restrictions on "extra judicial comments."

Police said Vincent and Bowling were linked romantically before the Bowlings married. Vincent, the mother of three children, confessed to shooting Bowling's wife, according to search warrants.

Mark Bowling owns Bowling Funeral Homes & Crematory, which has funeral homes in Rocky Mount, Scotland Neck, Tarboro and Enfield.

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Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com